Soap and container therefor

ABSTRACT

A container for holding a bar of soap includes a vertical wall portion, a horizontal flange portion extending from the wall portion to form an enclosure about the bar of soap and a peg secured to the central region of the wall portion. The bar of soap contains a central aperture extending therethrough to engage the peg for supporting the bar of soap thereon. A relatively nonsoluble insert is provided within the bar about the aperture to better maintain the aperture at substantially its initial diameter despite the gradual diminishing of the size of the bar of soap during use.

I UnIted States Patent [151 3,67 1 ,438 Cilia [451 June 20, 1972 [54] SOAP AND CONTAINER THEREFOR FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 2 Inventor; Paolo i i 33 o i Ave" Brooklyn, 16,925 1886 Great Britain ..252/90 NY. 11209 881,767 11/1961 Great Britain ..252/92 [22] Filed: 18, 1970 Primary ExaminerMayer Weinblatt [21] APP] NW 12,198 Assistant Examiner-W. Schulz Attorney--Robert S. Dunham, P. E. Henninger, Lester W. Clark, Gerald W. Griffin, Thomas F. Moran, Howard J. U-S- Cl. l i 34, Churchill Bradlce Boa] Christopher [)u harn Robert 252/174 Scobey and Henry T. Burke [51] lnt.Cl. ..Clld 17/00 [58] Field ofSearch ..252/90, 134, 174; D73/l.1; [57] ABSTRACT A container for holding a bar of soap Includes a vertical wall portion, a horizontal flange portion extending from the wall portion to form an enclosure about the bar of soap and a peg [56] keerences and secured to the central region of the wall portion. The bar of soap contains a central aperture extending therethrough to en- UNITED STATES PATENTS gage the peg for supporting the bar of soap thereon. A relal,495,l65 5/1924 Cummins ..248/359 tively non-soluble insert is provided within the bar about the 3.3 l 5,933 4/1967 Tatham..... aperture to better maintain the aperture at substantially its ini- D201 .595 7/1965 Woodard tial diameter despite the gradual diminishing of the size of the 1,225,323 5/1917 Goetzke ..252/90 bar ofsoap during use.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures INVENTOR. Y P/ww 6/1 /A 749..- TAM ram/5y SOAP AND CONTAINER THEREFOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to soap receptacles with means for holding or supporting the soap therein and to a soap bar adapted to be contained therein.

Soap is known to be manufactured in shapes other than the traditional bar or cake shape. Thus, Cummins US. Pat. No. D. 59,823 shows a toroidal-shaped bar of soap and Woodard US. Pat. No. D. 201,594 shows a hook-shaped bar of soap. A particular problem with such shaped bars of soap is that the gradual diminishing of the exterior dimensions of the bar due to water contact is accompanied by gradual increasing in size of the periphery of the aperture through the bar of soap. As the interior and exterior join, the bar of soap readily divides into several odd-shaped pieces. The bar of soap also soon attains a shape such that it may not be attractively contained within a conventional receptacle.

French Pat. No. 1,527,263 teaches the use of a hollow cylindrical insert disposed within a bar of soap. The insert is adapted to surround and engage a substantially upwardly directed peg secured to a support member. Because the insert does not extend entirely through the bar of soap, the insert tends to become filled with reconstituted soap particles, its function thereby being negated. Furthermore, as the insert must be sufficiently long to accommodate a significant portion of the length ofthe peg, the insert is of necessity disposed longitudinally through the bar of soap. Thus, it is difficult for the user to manipulate the bar of soap so as to return it to the receptacle. The insert is also likely to become loosened upon shrinkage ofthe bar of soap and fall out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is to provide a soap container that is pleasing in appearance, simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture and easy to install and use.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a container suitable for mounting on a wall surface or the like for a bar of soap which is toroidal or hook shaped.

Still another object is to provide a toroidal or hook-shaped bar of soap that may be supported vertically in a soap container despite gradual diminishment of the size of the bar.

To these and other ends, the present invention contemplates a peg extending substantially horizontally from the central region of a vertically disposed container, the peg being adapted to be surrounded and engaged by and thereby supporting a bar of soap having an aperture extending entirely therethrough in the central region thereof. The soap contains relatively non-soluble or less soluble material or insert extending about the aperture therein to maintain the aperture at substantially its initial diameter upon continued use ofthe soap.

In accordance with the invention, the container is formed by a vertically extending wall portion and a horizontally directed flange portion extending outwardly from the wall portion about the periphery thereof. The wall and flange portions form an open-ended enclosure in which the soap bar is contained. A horizontally directed peg extends outwardly from the central region of the wall portion, the peg being advantageously bent upwardly at its outer end. A reservoir is formed in the lower portion of the container when vertically disposed to receive water which may drip from the bar of soap.

A toroidal or hook-shaped bar of soap having a central aperture surrounds and'engages the peg for support within the container. As the aperture extends entirely through the bar of soap and as the peg is longer than the aperture, the upwardly bent portion of the peg maintains the bar of soap in position and prevents the bar from sliding off. To maintain the aperture at a constant size, a relatively non-soluble material or insert extends substantially about and transversely with respect to the periphery of the aperture, the insert preferably being contained entirely within the bar of soap. When the bar of soap is toroidal in shape, the insert is desirably toroidal and when the bar of soap is hook shaped, the insert is also desirably hook shaped. Such shapes prevent the insert from disengaging from the bar of soap upon use. The insert may be fabricated of any suitable material or synthetic material having the desired solubility characteristics, such as a plastic or wooden or fibrous, e.g. cardboard, material or of a soap of relatively less solubility than the soap comprising the remainder of the bar.

The container is adapted to be secured vertically to a wall or similar surface in the vicinity of a sink, the bar of soap being contained within and supported upon the peg.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a bar of soap and container therefor in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view, partially broken away, of a toroidal-shaped bar of soap; and

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of a hook-shaped bar of soap. partially broken away, and container therefor in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is shown a container, generally identified by reference numeral, 10, adapted to receive and to contain a bar of soap 12 in accordance with the present invention. Container 10 comprises, in part, wall portion 14, which is adapted to be secured in position to a wall. Wall portion 14 may be square, circular or of any other suitable shape so long as it is of sufficient size to accommodate a corresponding bar of soap [2 of the type contemplated to be received and contained therein. Flange portion 16 extends substantially outwardly from wall portion 14 around substantially the entire periphery thereof. If wall portion 14 is circular in shape, flange portion 16 must have a circular perimeter; if wall portion 14 is square in shape, flange portion 16 will have a rectangular perimeter. Thus, wall portion 14 and flange portion 16 form an enclosure 18 open at only one side to contain bar of soap 12. Preferably, both wall portion 14 and flange portion 16 are made of a plastic material that does not react with water and is generally unbreakable under normal use and are fabricated in one piece. by a a molding process or the like. Depression 20 may be cut or otherwise formed in the lower portion of container 10 when container 10 is vertically disposed. Depression 20 is located beneath bar of soap 12 when the latter is disposed within container 10 so that depression 20 will serve as a reservoir to receive and contain water which may drip from bar of soap 12 after use.

A male member such as peg 22 is secured to wall portion 14 near the central region thereof. Bar of soap I2 may be supported upon peg 22 as explained in more detail below. Peg 22, which is fabricated typically of the same plastic material as is container l0, may be cemented or otherwise fastened to wall portion 14 or may be positioned within socket 24 formed in wall portion 14. It may also be molded integrally with wall portion 14 and flange portion 16. Peg 22 extends substantially in a horizontal direction when container 10 is vertically mounted on a wall. At the outwardly extending end of peg 22 an upwardly bent portion 22a is integrally fonned. Such portion 220 typically extends upwardly at an angle of about 45 from the horizontal but for only a relatively short distance, portion 220 terminating within enclosure 18. End portion 22a serves to prevent bar of soap 12 when wet and slippery from sliding off the end of peg 22. Preferably, the length of peg 22 disregarding upwardly bent portion 22a) is equal to or longer than the depth of bar of soap 12 in order that upwardly bent portion 22a extends beyond bar of soap 12. Thus, bar of soap 12 when disposed vertically in container 10 will be firmly held between wall portion 14 and upwardly bent portion 22a of peg 22 while being completely contained within enclosure 18 above depression 20.

Bar of soap 12, which may be made from a conventional formula, is adapted to be received and contained within container In order to be positioned therein, bar of soap 12 has an aperture 26 extending entirely therethrough. Aperture 26 allows bar of soap 12 to engage peg 22, aperture 26 surrounding peg 22 so that bar of soap 12 can be supported thereupon. Bar of soap 12 is typically toroidal in shape (as shown in FIG. 3 at 12a) or hook shaped (as shown in FIG. 4 at 12b) or other suitable shape useful in thepractices of the invention.

Where bar of soap I2 is toroidal in shape (as shown in FIG. 3), aperture 26 is substantially circular in shape (as shown in FIG. 3 at 26a). Where bar of soap 12 is hook shaped (as shown in FIG. 4), aperture 26 is a groove formed in the central region of the bar (as shown in FIG. 4 at 26b). In the latter situation peg 22 is located near the upper portion of the central region of wall portion 14. It is also contemplated that bar of soap 12 be of any other suitable shape so long as a container 10 of complementary shape is available and provided that aperture 26 extends entirely therethrough. The latter requirement is a particular feature of the invention as it prevents aperture 26 from becoming gradually filled lengthwise with soap upon use.

To maintain aperture 26 at substantially its initial diameter despite gradual diminishing of the exterior dimensions of the bar due to water contact relatively non-soluble insert 28 is disposed within bar of soap I2 substantially extending about and transversely to the periphery of aperture 26. Disposing insert 28 transversely to aperture 26 prevents insert 28 from readily disengaging from bar of soap 12, which might occur when waterv enters the interstices between insert 28 and bar of soap 12. Insert 28 prevents aperture 26 from gradually expanding in size until it joins the gradually diminishing outer periphery of bar of soap 12. Should this occur, bar of soap 12 would not be able to be supported upon peg 22 and its useful life would thereby decline. Where bar of soap 12 is toroidal in shape (as shown in FIG. 3), insert 28 is also toroidal in shape (as at 280) and is disposed entirely within bar ofsoap 12 about the periphery of aperture 26a of the bar of soap 12a. Where bar of soap 12 is hook-shaped (as shown in FIG. 4), insert 28 is also hook-shaped (as at 28b) and is disposed entirely within bar of soap 12 surrounding groove 26b in the bar. Relatively non-soluble insert 28 may be fabricated of a plastic material that does not dissolve in water. In a preferred form of the invention, however, insert 28 comprises soap of relatively lesser solubility than the soap comprising the remainder of bar 12. In any event, insert 28 must be capable of maintaining aperture 26. Insert 28 need not be contiguous with the interior surface of aperture 26 of bar of soap 12 The hole provided by insert 28 to support bar of soap 12 on peg 22 may be larger or smaller in diameter than aperture 26, but in any event should not be smaller or equal to the diameter of peg 22.

In use of the invention, bar of soap 12 is disposed within container 10 entirely within enclosure 18. Bar of soap is disposed about peg 22 within container 10 such that the periphery of aperture 26 surrounds and engages peg 22. As peg 22 has upwardly bent portion 22a at the end thereof and as peg 22 is equal to or longer than aperture 26, bar of soap 12 is disposed within container 10 between wall portion 14 and upwardly bent portion 22a. Upwardly bent portion 220 prevents bar of soap 12 from sliding off peg 22. Insert 28 maintains an aperture 26 associated with the bar of soap l2. Container 10 of the present invention is attractive, simple in construction, easy to fabricate and can be readily adapted to be secured to a wall.

I claim:

1. A bar of soap having an opening therethrough and a relatively less soluble soap material substantially extending about said opening, said relatively less soluble soap material being contained entirely within said bar of soap to maintain said opening despite the gradual diminution of said bar of soap during use.

2. A bar of soap according to claim I, wherein said bar of soap is toroidal in shape.

3. A bar of soap according to claim I, wherein said bar of soap is hook shaped.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE (IEETWECATE OF CORREQ'NON Patent No. q 6' L .q8 Dated June 20, 1972 Inventor(s) -Pa0l0 Cilia It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the cover page, first column, under the heading "References Cited UNITED STATES PATENT", the

following list of U.S. references were omitted:

-- D132,2 9 Dreyfuss 1,239,076 Baker 2,586,626 Dunn 2,881,557 .Griner 3,325,133 Bertges Signed and sealed this 17th day of October 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOT'ISCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents FORM PO-IOSO (10-69) USCQMM-Dc 50376.;359

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2. A bar of soap according to claim 1, wherein said bar of soap is toroidal in shape.
 3. A bar of soap according to claim 1, wherein said bar of soap is hook shaped. 